How paternity pay (or lack thereof) drives discrimination against women in the workplace

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Can organisations promote gender equality effectively while providing relatively meagre enhanced paternity vs maternity packages? Without equal enhancement of parental packages companies reinforce outdated views on acceptable gender roles in society and perpetuate the discrimination experienced by women who choose to have a career (whether they have children or not). Perhaps we need to rethink the accepted inequality embedded within our parental packages?

In this article I discuss the accepted differences in enhanced paternity vs maternity packages, how they drive inequality and what progressive companies are doing to cultivate truly diverse and inclusive workplaces.

Employer enhanced paternity vs maternity packages 

I don’t mind admitting that, prior to having my own child, I was a massive fan of enhanced maternity pay. 

Enhanced maternity pay is a contractual benefit offered by some employers providing new mothers with paid leave above the legislative minimum in the UK (referred to as Statutory Maternity Pay)

Having worked for years in professional fields which suffered from the chronic under representation of women, it made sense that a competitive benefits package would help attract and retain female talent to achieve a more balanced workforce. 

As enhanced maternity pay applies only to women it seems logical that the better this benefit is the more attractive an organisation would appear to a prospective applicant (assuming all else is equal). Throughout my professional life, I’ve definitely seen employers and employees alike promote their ‘great’ maternity packages, where the assumption is the more paid time off available the better the package.

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This has resulted in some companies offering 26-52 weeks full pay and being hailed as a phenomenal employer for women owing to their generous enhanced maternity package. Compare this to the 2 weeks full pay for their equivalent paternity package it makes me wonder… What are the consequences of this inequality in paternity vs maternity pay that is often commonplace for employers?

Family friendly policies (that are mostly for women)

So employers assert that family friendly policies which might include a disproportionately enhanced parental package for women helps recruit and retain female talent. And the disproportionate nature of the benefit compensates for some of the systemic barriers women face in gaining and maintaining employment. Sounds great - but can it all be so positive? 

In my experience, there are unintended consequences of this positive action. Which acts to prevent realisation of workplace gender equality by, in my opinion, reinforcing outdated views on acceptable gender roles in society. When companies pay female employees to stay at home and raise their child and they don’t pay their male employees equivalently it sends a strong message on where they believe individuals add most value.

“The pedestal upon which women have been placed has all too often, upon closer inspection, been revealed as a cage.” - Ruth Bader Ginsburg

The cage that accompanies enhanced maternity packages is the resulting discrimination experienced by women who choose to pursue a career, whether they have children or not.

7.4% of respondents felt their unfair treatment at work was associated with their pregnancy and maternity AND 35.2% of respondents felt their unfair treatment at work was associated with their gender - The Speak Out Survey, Dec 2020

It looks a little like:

Women being overlooked for roles

I’ve heard hiring managers state that they were reluctant to hire a candidate who was ideal for the role because they ‘had the impression’ from the interview process that the individual would shortly start a family and therefore take a period of leave (made possible by a great maternity package). It will be unsurprising then that they were not hired and a man was recruited into the role, likely because they did not pose this risk.

Personally, this was (and probably still is) my biggest concern when interviewing for roles after I hit my late twenties. And actually it’s warranted according to Money Guru, one in seven (14 per cent) of employers admitted they would be 'reluctant' to hire a woman who may go on to have children. And they were the ones willing to admit it!

Women being overlooked for promotion

I’ve observed women’s well earned, and often overdue, promotions become deprioritised or (indefinitely) delayed where the justification is tied to the period of time in which they are anticipated to take maternity leave. 

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Women in my network have been asked ‘why they got pregnant’ if they were seriously working toward their promotion because apparently prior experience and value to the company are irrelevant when you intend to take a period of leave. A period of paid leave made possible by the employer that isn’t extended to your male counterpart. They likely are considered ‘serious’ about working towards their promotion because 2 weeks paid paternity leave is the length of a typical holiday, to which as we know everyone is entitled.

Women being paid less for a given role

Becoming a parent influences women’s earnings but not mens. Research into the gender pay gap suggests a 20% reduction, on average, over the long term. This is driven in roughly equal proportions by labor force participation, hours of work, and wage rates. (Henrik Kleven & Camille Landais & Jakob Egholt Søgaard, 2019. "Children and Gender Inequality: Evidence from Denmark," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, vol 11(4), pages 181-209.)

Photo by Josh Appel on Unsplash

I speculate that enhanced maternity packages, alongside company culture and lack of childcare infrastructure, play a part in increasing the likelihood that women will either leave the workforce or reduce their hours to accommodate childcare responsibilities. Both of these eventualities lead to an impact on earnings either by reduced experience (CV gap), the disproportionate pay penalty of working part time or the inability to progress owing to part time working.

“There is a clear culture that there is no career progression for mothers who apply for flexible working.” - Anonymous, The Speak Out Survey 

When companies do not enhance their paternity package as generously as their maternity package they indirectly contribute to women being overlooked for roles, women being overlooked for promotion and women being paid less compared to a male counterpart.

For these reasons (amongst I’m sure many others), I’m no longer taking companies seriously about their commitments to gender equality if they maintain the pay inequality in their enhanced paternity and maternity packages. 

What does good look like?

So I don’t mind admitting that, I’m not a fan of enhanced maternity packages. I’m a fan of enhanced parental packages that do not discriminate by gender which afford mothers and fathers the same opportunity to be involved in their child’s early care.

Paternity leave – and especially longer leaves of several weeks or months – can promote parent-child bonding, improve outcomes for children, and even increase gender equity at home and at the workplace.

Paid parental leave for fathers, as well as for mothers, provides a real advantage to working families. - Why parental leave for fathers is so important for working families

This is not without challenges however, gender harassment is routinely experienced by men who take an active role in raising their young children and this can only be compounded by normalising women as the primary caregiver. It’s my hope that companies will begin to think more strategically about their commitments and obligations to gender diversity within their workforce, it benefits everyone.

Progressive organisations that are leading in this space include Aviva, Etsy and Netflix with packages described here, where policies provide generous leave (~26 weeks) with full basic pay regardless of gender, sexual orientation or whether they had given birth, adopted or conceived through surrogacy.

So, tell me… does your company offer an equal enhanced maternity and paternity package?

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If you’ve been impacted by unfair treatment at work associated with your pregnancy and maternity or gender (sexism) please take a moment to support others by completing the Speak Out survey today: https://www.speakoutrevolution.co.uk/the-speak-out-survey

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